Thursday, July 19, 2007

Capoeira and Candomblé

Well, these past few weeks here have been really fun and really interesting. I´ve been doing a lot of things to stay busy and explore different aspects of Brazil. Before I came, I was really excited to see some Capoiera and boy have I seen it. I´m actually taking it too! I started taking a Capoeira class last week. I really like it, but I need to learn to be more careful because the very first day, I ended up pulling a muscle in my leg. Ouch. So as of now, I´m working on healing it before doing too much more. I tried to go to two more classes after I pulled it, but after limping for awhile, I decided that it wasn´t too smart. oh well. It´s been almost a week since I´ve done class so hopefully the muscle is almost good as new now. I guess we´ll find out when I try to play again. I´ve also seen a lot of Candomblé. If you don´t know what it is, it´s an afro-brazilian cult/religion here that has many ´gods´ which they call Orixás. It´s pretty interesting because the people have gatherings every once in awhile where they dance all night, literally. It´s not hard core fast dancing, but still, they are on their feet all night dancing. When they are doing this, in the beginning, they go into a trance where they believe they have been taking over by an Orixá. They then become that Orixá for the rest of the night. It´s crazy because as they dance, their eyes are completely closed, and there are about 6 people on the floor at once and they are all doing different things and moving about the area, yet they never run into eachother or into the crowd. Who knows. Whatever is happening, it´s interesting to watch. The beach has been a semi-frequent stop for me as well, which means that I´m getting a tan!!! Who hoo! Pastey Erin is getting dark (well for me it´s dark. for the normal human being, it´s still pretty white) lol. I know I have done a really poor job updating this blog, and I´m sorry, but I really have limited access to the internet. I´ll try and do better, but no promises. I have to go to class now, but to sum up, things are going well. I love this city, the people, and the culture. It´s very laid back and go with the flow, which is totally my style, yet it can be a little frustrating at times when I have things I want to get done, but can´t because nothing starts or ends on time. Such is life, I guess. Oh, but I have to tell you, the music here, AMAZING! Everyone loves to dance, play music and have a good time! The other day I went to a friend´s house (with his host family) where they were having a birthday party and a gathering to watch the Brazil/Argentina soccer game (brazil won, btw 3-0) and during the game, everything was fun and lively, but afterwards....wow. It got amazing. All the guys grabbed their instruments and starting playing all of these traditional songs. This wasn´t just a 10 minute show or anything. This music/singing/dancing lasted probably 2 1/2 hours! Nonstop! It was soooo much fun! They never run out of songs to play! So, like I said, bottom line, things are going well, and I love Brazil!

Monday, July 2, 2007

Salvador minha amor

I´m hhhheeeeerrrrrrreeeee! I arrived in Salvador, Brazil on Tuesday, and have been having a wonderful time. I met my host mom *my host sister will arrive on July 10th* and she is wonderful. She´s such a sweetie and is helping me find my way around by giving me a few directions and sending me off on my own. haha. It´s helping me find my own way though. Of course, she makes sure I´m safe, but gives me the directions so I can learn. It´s good. I´ve been doing a lot...going to the beach, walking around the city, etc. I also went to a club the other night...very fun! I danced with some Brazilians and they taught me a traditional dance called Forro. It was neat. Today I went to a part of the city called Pelourinho where we saw a parade and party in celebration of Bahia´s (the state) independence day. it was so neat! Lots of singing, dancing, music, costumes, and capoeira. If you don´t know what capoeira is, it´s an afro-brazilian dance that´s really interesting. google it. Anyhow, bottom line, I love Brazil, and I love Salvador! I´m having a blast. I can´t write much now, but I´ll update again hopefully soon. I´m a little limited on the internet use. Love to all,

Erin